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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Guys, I get a lot of wreck reactions via e-mail. I've seen multi-page rants IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS from bridezillas, blistering sarcasm from disappointed parents, and more "LOL"s than I can count. I've even known one or two brides who had to take their bakers to court to get a refund.

However.

I've never - ever - seen someone sue a baker for over $4,300 over a misspelled name on a $55 cake.

UNTIL NOW.

If you can't see the video because you're at work, count yourself lucky. Frankly, I was ready to bash my own head in after the first three minutes. That lady gives crazy a bad name.

Oh, and here's the wreck in question - or at least part of it:

The judge reads the baker the riot act over the cracks in the icing, but also points out to the mom that if you saddle your child with a ridiculouslyspelled name (it's pronounced "Kiesha" but spelled "Keshia") then you pretty much have to expect people to screw it up for her entire lifetime. And so stop sweating the small stuff already.

Good advice all 'round, wouldn't you say?

Oh, and if *I* were that baker, I think I'd have replaced the cake with something a little more appropriate:

:D

(Then I'd direct Ms. Crazy Pants to this blog for an eye-opening dose of perspective.)

Thanks to Kathy D. and David S., who are consulting their lawyers. So watch out, moms.

I have been repeating my name and spelling it for people ever since I could spell. My kids have common names because of it. I still have family who were around when I was born say and spell my name wrong. So yeah, this mother needs to take a chill pill if that was the worst thing that ever happened to her.

Oh my god, how ridiculous. If you're going to get so upset about your daughter's name being misspelt, spell it right to begin with. I have an unusual name myself, and I've never flipped so much over it being spelled wrong, let alone my mum getting upset!

I totally understand where the mother of the future bride is coming from.Although my name is spelled S-U-B-E-E, It is pronounced "Throat Warbler Mangrove." You can't imagine how many people get it wrong.

You were right - right about at the three minute mark I was ready to hit my head against the desk!

Crazy mom should have spelled her daughter's name right to begin with and then there wouldn't have been any problems. But then again, she couldn't even say the word "ask" correctly - it kept coming out as "aks".

Yes, Rob needs to run away from both of them as fast as he can as quickly as he can.

I remember seeing a case on The People's Court when Wapner was still the judge. The woman sued because her wedding cake had yellow flowers instead of peach ones; she claimed it ruined her wedding. Wapner asked her if she ate the cake and if it tasted OK. She replied "yes. but...". Wapner cut her off and dismissed the case. It was awesome.

My mother decided to spell my name Kimberlee....not the traditional Kimberly or Kimberley.... would I go balistic and sue the cake maker? No. I would have had the cake say "Congrats Tom and Kim" instead!

That lady crazy!! And I do feel bad for the guy... he farts wrong, he gonna be in trouble!!

The cracked cake is one thing, but a misspelled name is almost always an easy fix. I've only misspelled a name once and that is when I was first starting out with cake decorating. But I have fixed a lot of misspellings done by other decorators, and I've never had problems. The cake shouldn't be cracked like that, though I still think they should have provided a picture of the whole cake. Bottom line is that lady should get the cake for free, but that's it.

I work in a call centre taking personal messages for people, we have to spell every single name as we type the message... I HATE people with unusual spellings!! "Jeff Smith, that's J E F F S M I T H?" "NO!!!!! It's G E O P H S M Y T H E!!!! God, don't you know how to spell? Are you in India? *offended sigh*"

(for the record, no, I am in Australia and yes, this is a real spelling!)

I'm VERY sympathetic to the misspelled name cause-- my own grandfather never got mine right, and mine is *constantly* misspelled AND mispronounced. I think the worst spelling was "Elysse". Lovely name but only one letter right! But at least in my case it was because my father picked a name that isn't common in English; in the case in the video, it seems that the mother was simply illiterate. But even so, one just learns to sigh and correct, when it's wrong again, and learns some tricks (e.g. when someone's writing it down, don't say it before you spell it)

The daughter seems to be a bit more sensible, and she's the one that has to live with her mothers poor naming decision. But the mother-- wow. Seriously, letting that ruin the entire party celebrating your daughters engagement??? Yes, you made it clear that it was the one thing that mattered to you, and the facility screwed it up badly. But still, your daughter's marrying a guy who isn't fleeing despite the craziness of his future MIL. Nor is he insisting that his future wife minimize contact with you. Instead, he's standing with them in court. Celebrate that! And make sure that the wedding cake's done right…

Wha is it with people giving their kids these oddball names??? No wonder we are becmong a wussy nation, we whine about EVERYTHING< and we do not let go-we have to be compensated for the smallest amount of "suffering"

Seriously? A forty five hundred dollar lawsuit over a misspelling on a fifty five dollar cake? You have got to be kidding me. Sure, these people have a right to be upset but to put a lawsuit on that? You've got to be kidding me.

Actually it's an odd name any way you spell it, were did it come from?Just to say my .30 something niece is called Tamsyn because her Dad had forgotten the piece of paper with the correct spelling on it when he went to register her birth, and my husband got our dead sons name tattooed on his arm and told the tattooist the wrong spelling,Geriant instead of Geraint, luckily he would have jseen the funny side and it's typical of my dear hubby.

I do not think she should have won $4,300, so the judge made the right decision. THAT being said, I think some bakers and this is one of them have forgotten how important their cakes are to the party. The mom was crazy: yes. BUT she did emphasize the spelling of her daughter's name over and over. This should have been double checked by the baker and the cater.

I say this because I am CRAZY when I order cakes for my children; we did a trial run for my daughter's Sweet 16 cake. This is because one of my children died 10 yrs ago, her last birthday cake was completely wrong. When the decorater offered to fix it I was in a hurry and said, that's ok she will have plenty other birthdays. But 6 months later she died. So, yes when I order a cake I want what I ordered and I want my children's names spelled right. (They don't have strange names but if you cannot read your order form then you should not be a professional baker!)

I read the comments first, so I'm going to skip the video. I have little tolerance for idiots, and from all appearances, this woman is their queen.

I've had my name misspelled before--Malinda, Milinda--and not once have I felt the urge to sue over it. If you want your child's name to be spelled correctly, it helps to spell it conventionally...and still spell it out for people when the spelling matters.

Anonymous @ 10:53, I love Brian Reagan! However, I'm always surprised when I see him because when I hear his recordings, I picture somebody else in my head...and I haven't figured out who that "somebody else" is.

My husband said, "It's not the BAKER that spelled her name wrong." (As in, it was the mom -ha!) He also said it was like the best of both worlds for me -obv, I lurve Cake Wrecks, but I also <3 People's Court, specifically Judge Millian (whose name I prob just spelled wrong). The "Help!!!" cake's topper was the same one we used. And as you can guess, the spelling & pronunciation of my name gets butchered all of the time. We get a good laugh. I've been called "alien" more times than bears mentioning.

"Does this frighten you?" My guess is that he's down with it. Maybe his family makes hers seem normal. Maybe he suffers from Severely Atypical Man Syndrome and craves constant drama. On the other hand, 4300 Washingtons makes a nice 'dowry'. Nudge-nudge.

There are just some people who make one say, "how about the two of us trade problems for a day, 'mkay?"

Sending people to this blog for a dose of perspective ought to be the primary conflict-management strategy worldwide.

The mom's (crazy) reaction makes me wonder if she meant to name her daughter "Keisha" but misspelled it herself on the birth certificate. Then she gets to shift the blame to everyone else who will spell it wrong the rest of her life.

I mention this because a friend of mine has an unusual name, since her daddy spelled it wrong on the birth certificate.

My name is always being mispronounced and spelled wrong here on the mainland USA so naturally I gave BOTH my kids names that would insure those things would happen to THEM too! Just because those things make like bearable when you can laugh (sometimes at and sometimes with) people. If that were my son I would tell him he could only marry that girl after her mother dies of a heart attack the NEXT time her daughter's name is spelled wrong.

Pfft. My first name is ridiculously common and therefore never spelled wrong, but my troubles have always been with my last name. It's Holyoak, which is apparently the most difficult surname in the world to get right. Not only did I grow up three hours' drive from Holyoke, Massachusetts (thus resulting in 12 years of misspellings in school before the system finally got it through their thick skulls), but we've seen all sorts of variations on snail mail we've received over the years. Two of my favorites were Hollindak and Halycak (and no, neither was due to poor handwriting on our part). Then I went to school out west, where there are a lot more people with that surname, and people could *spell* it right, but couldn't *pronounce* it ("Hollyoak" would have two L's, not one, people! It's Holy-as-in-Bible-oak-as-in-tree.)

Then I got married to a guy with a surname that should be ridiculously easy to spell (Wallace) thanks to things like Braveheart and Wallace and Gromit. In fact, Hubby had never had a name-spelling problem before. I swore to him I was cursed, and sure enough, within a year of getting married I had *two* people misspell my new surname as Wallis. People who should've known better, no less.

What do I do about it all? Do I get sue-happy? Not at all. I laugh it all, and collect the most amusing instances of it.

Years ago I had a student who was writing an essay about someone he admired. His essay was fine but he repeatedly misspelled the name of his hero. I sat down with him and explained that "Anthony" was spelled A n o, well, you know. But he insisted *he* was correct and I was spelling it wrong.His hero?Anfernee Hardaway

My name isn't that unusual and I still have to spell it for everyone. I've gotten used to people asking for Wendy or Britney when they mean me. I've had Starbucks cups with nearly every misspelling of my name- and thankfully, my mom decorated all my cakes as a kid, so it was never a problem.

It really is a small problem, misspellings of names. Yeah, the party planning people really did screw up by not making sure the name was spelled right... but that woman is unbelievably crazy. Wouldn't it be hilarious if she misspelled the name on the birth certificate and has been angrily covering for her mistake all this time?

I'm glad I spent the 15 minutes watching Judge Nicey turn into Judge Stuff It. Not to be a cake snob (would I be here if I weren't?) but clearly $55 for a boring slab cake tells me that this woman didn't give a damn about the cake at that party. She just likes being a pain in the a**, and she even said so at the end. Unfortunately, her daughter is saddled with her ineptitude slathered in misdirected rage.

My first name is Annemarie,which has about 5 'common' spellings. Any time I have my name put on something, it's always fun to see if they spell my name right or not. The only time I get annoyed/mad, is if they decide my name is Mary Anne. This has happened before. More than I would like to admitt. Though I would never dream of suing a baker for spelling it wrong.

2 of my kids have uncommon names, as a result of me having too much family (It's what happens when both sides are Irish). But we -expect- their names to be mispelled AND mispronounced.My daughters name is one of the top 10 in Ireland, so I'm hoping some day she will come across someone who will know how to pronounce her name by glancing at it.

I get that the misspelling of name on the cake was a bummer but I am pretty sure that the bride to be is used to it. But $4300 bucks ...seriously...REALLY??? Good luck with that. And I love the way she told the bakery in advance that she was going to sue them if they messed it up..lol

wv:tumne I guess they misspelled her name one tumne times for this mom!!

Okay, I admit, as I have gotten older I have become less tolerant of mispronouncing my name: Margot. It's not that hard people! I get 'Margaret' a lot and that's not even close! Worst ever: Maggot. True story. By a substitute teacher in 7th grade. Yes. I did live to tell about it but I just got up and walked out of class. Don't even get me started on the misspellings...okay just this one. My name is misspelled on my driver's license, an error by the STATE and to get the letter "T" put on my license I would have to have a certified copy of my birth certificate which cost $25. I've just lived with it for 30 years. Jeeesh.

wow my last name (pronounced like oreo with an L in front) is constantly spelled and said wrong. once i think i even got mor-eye-ee! you would think that since my first name is kate it would never be misspelled but i constantly get people asking if it's a k or c and calling me katie or katherine. how many letters could actually be silent? come on!!!

I was ready to rule against this woman when it was obvious that she couldn't talk... it's SAW, not sar. It's ASK, not aks. For the love of Pete, I'm guessing SHE was the first one to misspell her daughter's name.

First, My name is spelled Jessyca. It does tend to get "misspelled" but it's something I have come to get used to after 30 years. The funny ones aren't when they spell it normal with an I, it's when they add the I before the Y or replace the C with a K. No idea where that comes from.

Secondly, why does that writing look like it was written with a fading crayola marker?

Hey! Watching the video you posted will have to wait till this evening after I’m home from work. (No speakers on my computer at work.) BUT... I have an entirely different reason for sending you a note this afternoon. Check out the awesomeness of this Rubik’s Cube cake:

Once a person called and spelled her last name...I wrote the letters down, looked and panicked!OUTHOUSE, I read.When I addressed her as Mrs. OutHouse there was silence...She imperiously corrected me:"It's outhouse" (au thuse accent on second sylible.) I was mortified- but she didn't sue. LOLmocking

Oh, ARRRGH.( pronounced Orgyle) Having spent my entire life having to spell fairly ordinary first, maiden AND married names and dealing - professionally - with crazy people AND being an editor ... a cracked cake is soooo appropriate.Also: Run, Bob! Hide somewhere and change your name to Ernesto so they can't find you and sue for breach of promise.

Margot/Margaret/Maggot-- you gave me the biggest laugh of the DAY! Oh my goodness; you deserve a trophy for subbing in a 7th grade class.

You can imagine I've had my name misspelled umpteen-thousand times. I get Joanna, JoHanna, Zonna, Donna, ZoeAnne, Roxanne. When my daughter was born, her name was right on the birth certificate but they made mine "Loanna." My guess is the mom in this case was under the influence something when she filled out the birth certificate order. Maybe she was on "crack."

phara- King Tut's mummy also got upset when they spelled the pharah's real name wrong. It was such a (Tutan)khamun name back them.

I LOVE that the judge [I can't remember her name, but I love her!] went off at the end, that's what I would've done. Only, I would've said "Ok, you're suing her for over $4300 for a cake misspelling? I'm in favor of the defendant," and sent them right along without hearing what they had to say.

My maiden name was Duso, someone in the army messed up when my great(x3)-grandfather joined. We just kept the "Americanized" spelling. My sister did gymnastics in school and once our last name was pronounced "disco". We just laugh about it and I think she uses it as an e-mail address. Another sister's first name is Anneliese (anna - lee - suh), it is rarely pronounced or spelled correctly. She is used to it and laughs it off.

This groom needs to run very fast away from this family since they have no sense of humor!

I have been called "Dana" and "Diya" my whole life. It's actually "Day-uh". Then I went and married someone with the last name Tracy. Now I am always called Tracy. You have to just smile and answer anyway. At least it helps with telemarketers. They ask for Diya or Tracy and I tell them "Wrong number".

Admittedly, I was listening and watching while two other things by the 7 minute mark. But, if I heard correctly, the party folks offered on the day of the party to offset the cost of the cake by paying her bar tab. In fact, wasn't that why the Judge dismissed the case, because Plaintiff Crazy Momma had already accepted satisfaction for the cake error? The bar tab was twice the cost of the cake, so damages had already been paid.

Here in Texas,there is a case going around the legal circles or the fb circles or something about a woman who gets upset because people mispronounce her child's name L-sha. How would you pronounce that name?

Well, this particular mother pronounces it L' dash-a, cuz the dash not be silent here!

I really am looking forward to the cake i have to command in two weeks for our daughter, Jylianne.

Funnily, it isn't her name that get mispelled (i'm asked to spell it every time) its the family name. A simple family name that get butchered over and over in way i didn't think possible. The good part is that you don't write those on cakes!

And the crazy lady probably saw an opportunity to help pay for the wedding...Still crazy though!

@anonymous at 2:36 PM:There's a farm near our home called "Outhouse Orchards." For years we thought it odd that they chose a rustic loo to represent their farm. I recently found out that the family name is Outhouse. Maybe your Outhouse is a member of their family.

Harvey made a comment about people naming their kids with weird spellings, but to me it's not so much about "weird" spellings as it is there are so many ways to spell things. My name is Catherine (the original English spelling), but no one ever gets it right. I usually don't correct anyone unless it's being written on something important. Otherwise, as long as you can pronounce it, spell it however you want. Most people ask if it starts with a K or a C and try to drop the vowels to make it Kathryn. If it were on a cake, I'd make them redo it or ask for my money back on it, but not for the whole cost of the party.

Well, as you can see, I'm another who sees alternative spellings of my name a lot. To complicate things further, my other name is Katherine, for which there are a half dozen common spellings and another half dozen variations that also make sense. And we won't even get started on my last name, especially my maiden name, although my married one isn't much better. And my husband's grandparents used to misspell his very common first name, and my mom can't remember which variation he uses. Plus we have a relative whose name was mangled on her birth certificate because a grandmother decided to be helpful and fill it out herself, but the parents got that straightened out legally so that was never a problem, just a funny story. And yet I - or anyone else I know - have never even thought of suing someone for butchering my name. I've gotten snippy, but I walked away and moved on with my life. I would suggest to the groom to be that that option is still available for him.

I was on a fourth date with this guy (that a friend had set me up with) when he told me his name wasn't John. It was Gian (G-on). In my embarrassment/confusion (they sound very similar)I looked down to discover he only had nine fingers. True story.

I’ve enjoyed the heck out of reading all your comments, and there’s one thing I’d like to share. It’s not about my name. First name “Mary”, last name “Evans”. Yes, I know and appreciate how very lucky I am!

As a long-time receptionist, I sometimes think that I’ve encountered almost every name there is. And the name “Sherry” sort of stands out as a bulletproof (OK, bullet-resistant!) name for a couple of important reasons. It can be spelled in a staggering variety of ways, but even so, nearly everyone who can barely-sort-of read English can pronounce it correctly, or at least come close. Check it out:

You can start with either SH or CH, followed by either an A or an E, followed by either one or two Rs, then for the big finish, Y or EY or IE or I or EE, with or without an accent mark! And those are just the regular, normal variations I’ve run across. With the introduction of silent letters, the possibilities are endless!

One thing I never understood is when I was receiving letters from colleges asking for me to apply a handfull of them spelled my name, Jessica, as "Jessicad" I have no clue where that spelling came from but I got a lot of letters to "Dear Jessicad" All I can guess is my middle intitial is E so perhaps they typed in my first name but hit the wrong letter when typing in my middle initial and realize they typed the MI into the wrong box.

I have to jump in here too, because my full name is Genevieve. Standard spelling for an uncommon name, so the misspellings get impressively creative. The most boring are when people see it and jump to Jennifer or Guinevere. My favorite ever was (and this is after my mom spelled it over the phone for them, not once, but twice) JENEVIDEE.

For a few years after that, my family and I would talk about my invisible twin sister, Jenevidee. I think I'll have them put that on my engagement party cake on purpose.

Also, one college frat decided from my name that I was a boy, so I got an invitation to come to a get-to-know-you weekend for the new freshmen. (I should've gone!)

Nowadays, when someone asks my name, I spell it first, because as soon as people hear the soft 'jeh' sound they write down a J, and then even when I say G, they hear J.

So I collect the misspellings and laugh over them. On the rare occasion someone gets it right on the first try, I give them a prize!

(My sisters are Jocelyn and Elinor, so they're in the same boat. Elinor almost always gets 'Eleanor', but the best she ever got was 'Flinor'. Yes, you read that right.)

There are a few ways to mess up my name. I've had people tell me I was wrong and the proper way to say (and spell) my name is "Jo-Ann." (Like those folks who correct people from Iowa and tell them it's properly pronounced "Ohio," I guess.) But my all-time favorite screw-up was when somebody who had never heard of "Joan" as a first name decided I must have told them my last name by mistake, and filed my Sears pick-up order under "Jones." True story.

Maybe all cakes should just use "Hey you" for safety's sake?

wv: coneses - The coneses on all bakers to double and triple check the spelling of every word on a cake.

I saw that episode when it aired! Here's my theory on the crack in the cake: Crazy Mom saw the mispelling, slammed the cake down on the table, and that's when it cracked. Had nothing to do with the catering people or the hall at all, entirely due to her. Just my theory but really, after watching her, can't you just totally picture her doing it?

My name isn't all that common, but it's not unheard of either. It's almost never spelled right. It gets spelled as: Anet, Annet, Annete, Anete, Anite (huh?), Anita, once in school I had a classmate give me a birthday card with my name as Annetetete. She knew there were a few t's and e's, in there, just no idea how many. In high school I tried shortening it to "Anne", which many people then insisted on either spelling as "Ann" or calling me "Annie".

I happened to see this ridiculous case - the woman was insane. Sort of an example of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Lady, just accept the fact that no one is ever going to spell your kid's name the way you want it. BTW - did you catch that she threw out any award, etc. the girl won that had her name wrong? Heck, I know a NY Times bestselling author who won three writing awards at the same event - and each award had a different spelling of her name (none of them were right!). She put 'em up on her wall anyway.

I can relate to Margot's problem with the DMV. They dropped an l from Michelle and I had to show my birth certificate to get it changed. But then they didn't want to take the BC because it had been written on! Yet they wonder why people hate them.

My name is Jani. Obviously my mother couldn't spell. I've had it misspelled all over the place, let alone mis-pronounced. At least Keshia could get it pronounced correctly most of the time. I have never once gotten upset over it, let alone tried to take somebody to court over it. Please! Obviously these people have too much time on their hands and too few real issues.

I forgot to mention the worst thing about my name, the last one: Muhlestein.

Yeah, I've had that one pronounced correctly two, three times in my life. And don't ask about spelling it correctly. I actually enjoy some of the spellings that people come up with: Munklesteen was my favorite.

These people need to grow up. And Mel, (notice the silent, invisible i), you not only rock, but your name is spelled impeccably.

wv: inder, as in, that Rob should have had an inder-cation that something was wrong in his relationship and run far, far away.

So when I got engaged, I also had a party. It wasn't until I arrived at the party, unwrapped the cake and later looked at photos that I realized I was actually having an ENGAGMENT party - I guess weddings are like getting gagged. The point is, that it is *really* funny now. I've been married 10 years, and this was the smallest thing. Get over it lady.

Can't believe I found this site. I am rob from the video. We regret ever going in on this show, I never thought it would be seen by as many people as it did. We went in knowing we were going to lose, i don't know I'd the end of the clip shows our post hearing interview, but yes.... It was dumb. My mother in law is a little nutty yes but she means well. Basically the catering hall management sucked and gave us a shit attitude so instead of contacting the BBB like we should have, we did this. You win some you lose some. Love my family though...

I've seriously lost count how many times people have misspelled or mispronounced my name. It's spelled Angelia, pronounced Angela. Yes, the i is silent. No, there isn't a missing n (Angelina) or c (Angelica).

I learned at an early age to let it roll off my back. At age 5 when I started school to be precise.

And due to my love of people misspelling my name, I didn't spell my nickname (Angi) the proper way either.

Yes, I passed on the life lesson to my children. There names are not so common and have a y instead of i's in their names.

I work with electronic medical records, and you will not BELIEVE what people decide to call their newborns, especially twins. No, extremely similar names with same DOB won't mess anyone up. Our team always says there should be a test before the birth certificate(s) are filled out. Also, when filling the sheet out, PRINT CLEARLY. Maybe mom in this case many years ago thought she spelled the name correctly, but the dot for the "I" wandered a little too far over to one side.

Also, if you have a son, and he's born on the same birthdate as the father, DON'T make him a Jr. Just spent three hours pulling that type of mixed record apart today.

The spelling of my name is slightly uncommon for a man. Which confuses folks a lot, since I'm a woman.

I've been asked if I'm sure I am spelling it right. Why, NO! Thanks for pointing out my error! And I was assigned a bed in the men's dorm at college (never did meet that roommate) despite filling out a mountain of paperwork and checking the "F" box for my gender every time.

At Starbucks (or anywhere else it doesn't really matter) I answer to Ann, Karen, Mary, and once Nora. Weird.

Maria: I have the same problem, but the other way around. Loads of people (including the receptionist at my old dentist's office every goddamn year no matter how many times my mother corrected her) somehow arrive at the assumption that the "e" at the end of my name is really a cleverly-disguised "a". I got used to it, but for some reason it doesn't happen as much anymore. But you know that damn song from "West Side Story"? It always drove me nuts when people even so much as referenced it to me. My third grade teacher actually SHOUTED it at me in front of the entire class upon first meeting me, leading me to develop an irrational, burning hatred for that song (though I generally love the rest of the musical). The thing is, though, most people who mention/sing/shout that song to me don't usually do it because they genuinely believe that that's how you say my name, but more because there is a serious lack of popular songs with my real name in them - which is really more than okay with me because I think I would actually be even more mortified if people tried to serenade me with my actual name. :P

I had a bus pass in middle school with the name "Mariel" printed on it because my mom put my middle initial on the application. But "Manatee"…just…wow. >.<

On the subject of creative names: one of my uncles apparently had trouble applying for a visa years ago because he shared his name with a criminal. Hence, he invented unusual names for his three children. So which is really worse: Having people constantly misspell/mispronounce your name with the unusual spelling that's partially derived from either a southern rock band or a ridiculously resourceful TV action hero? Or coincidentally sharing your name with a murderer/terrorist/serial killer/etc.?

Wow. Just wow. I've heard of bridezillas before, but, pun intended, this one takes the cake.

I fired my own cake baker/decorator 3 months prior to my own wedding for being completely uncooperative and nasty to me(to the point of making me sick for two days)...but I didn't sue.

Spoke to the manager, told him all I wanted was the contract cancelled and my $50 deposit(usually nonrefundable) back. He complied and apologized and that was that for me.

Not for the baker, apparently. I know she had to be told about the contract being cancelled, but she tried calling TWICE more after that. Once two weeks before the wedding, and once the week OF the wedding, long after I had my aunt do the cakes(like I wanted to begin with) and been refunded.

Still didn't sue the local store she worked at, simply told the manager of her behavior and let him handle it. Over a $300+ cake.

Over a couple grand for a $55 cake? I don't think so. Has that lady ever heard of "Get what you pay for"?

wv: purge - Hopefully that hubby-to-be purge(s) her from his life fast. Yikes.

Loved that episode! I felt so sorry for the poor groom, at least once I got over my shock over the price of the "engagement party." Or the fact the mother used to throw away her trophies because of the name being misspelled! My own grandmother misspelled my name tons of times, still loved me! Fortunately I grew up with a mom who taught me to laugh at the small stuff - and it's almost all small stuff!

In defense of weird names...We have a very, very common last name, so we chose to give our children unusual first names. Mostly we did it because we came up with 'different' names that we LOVE, but it will also be nice for them to be able to use their names as their email addresses some day. May not seem that important, but the world is becoming more electronic; there are loads of Facebook accounts with my name. The kids' names aren't difficult to pronounce; they're just different. As a Kristy, I've had to spell my name my whole life - can start with K, C or CH, and end with Y, I, IE, or more recently EE. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me to spell my kids' names at the bakery, either. I cannot imagine suing - or even getting upset - at a misspelled name!

Well, hi, Rob! Welcome to Cake Wrecks! =) No worries; it is silly but we all know how those courtroom shows are. I've been in the audience for them and I've seen how they choreograph the proceedings.

Yes, I'd still say it was rather an overreaction to a name misspelling, but I can also see how your mother-in-law may have wanted to make a point with all the fuss, since she did make a big point with the bakery about the spelling, and since she did tell them she'd hold them responsible for the party if it was wrong. Plus, there really is no excuse for that icing.

*shrugs*

Hopefully you can all laugh about it now - or will be able to, some day soon!

Wow. This woman needs to get a grip. I. Am kind of stunned speechless right now. My name is constantly misspelled and mispronounced, and not once have I felt the urge to sue someone over it. I. What? *blinks*

Wow I love that judge. What the heck was that lady thinking? My last name is incredibly simple, only four letters "Barr" and yet, it has been misspelled and mispronounced A LOT. Chick is crazy for getting really mad no one can spell her kid's name right when she spells it weird!

I know what it's like to spell your name out for someone and still have them spell it wrong. So I get that. Except that my name is spelled like it should, and not like someone with dyslexia wrote it on my birth certificate. I'd feel sorry for the girl because her mom set her up for experiencing minor annoyances for her whole life, but she seems to be just as crazy as her mom.

We named our daughter Kelley because we liked the way the name looked on paper. We had no idea how many problems we would be causing for our poor daughter by inserting that extra visible and silent "e" into her name.

She, being the resourceful sort, has found a way to get through to people how to correctly spell her name - she simply tells people that her name is spelled the same as the Kelley School of Business at her university.

Hi Rob,Do yourself a favor and don't show your Mother in Law this blog. I don't think she'll appreciate the comments.Good luck to you and Keisha. You seem like a really nice guy, I hope you have a happy life together!

I just tell people that my mom spelled my name wrong. Deana pronounced De Anna not Deena. the weirdest spelling i've had was Denana (which one of my coworkers wrote on a message and now several call me that) While I will erase an extra n, I get way more upset when they call me by the wrong name (Denise or Danielle) D.

I thought the same thing, Basiljen. Not only was she outraged that people never spelled it "correctly", but she seemed quite confident that "Keshia" was the accepted spelling of the name. She pulled a bit of a face when the judge remarked about unusual spellings. I guess it could happen. Perhaps "Keshia" really is pronounced "kee-sha" where that woman is from... in the same way "asked" is pronounced "axed", ya know?

We have been getting a LOT more of these extreme high maintenance customers lately. I have "fired" four of them-these people are soooooo not worth the stress, pain, & suffering they inflict everywhere they go.

A couple of these former customers have tried ordering from us again a few times but I have told them that they need to find another bakery that would be a better fit for their special requirements (and good luck finding one!).

One lady called us for two weeks straight, up to 10 times a day...every...single...day (I kept count & soooo wished I was kidding) to discuss the cake order for her 10 year old daughter's birthday which was a pretty simple cake from our perspective. She also kept trying to get us to lower the price because "she'd tell her friends about us". Frankly, if they are ANYTHING like her, I'd rather go broke. One of the follow up cakes that she tried to order through us was for her dad's birthday that evening (to be delivered of course) that she forgot about until 11am that morning. She tops my list of our "most special customers" and I made sure to call all of the bakeries that we are on good terms with and to warn them about dealing with this one. She was that "special".Rant is over...I'm going to write a book I swear.

Way back,us little kids discovered swearing and simultaneously that we weren't supposed to - so being resourcful brats, we found alternatives. Criminy! ( pronounced Crime Inny) Geeeez, Shoot and ... Keesh! I'd forgotten. Gives me a second expletive for at work [ along with Ombedu Giggi], maybe runrobrun too.

Try telling someone your name is Angel (I even spelled it for her because she asked), then I get an email from that person and now my name is spelled Beth.I've also had Angle, April...though to be fair, I have met an April who gets called Angel so I guess we're even Stephen ;) on that score.

Oh, and follow up to my first post. We have dealt with some very nice extreme high maintenance customers. There's just a certain group that it doesn't matter what you do, right or wrong-they have to go overboard.

For the record, the customers that I "fired" had all of their orders done correctly. The reason they are no longer welcome is that they acted like this lady reacted, all the way up to the completion of the order. Life's been a lot more peaceful since;)

I've never seen the misspelled name spelled anyway except "Kesha" or "Kisha". While this does not make it any less acceptable for a bakery to get a name wrong when it has been written out for them, this does not make it wrong for a parent to pick a non-Biblical name.

So..now that the Bible can-of-worms has been opened, why is there this sudden sentiment that the only RIGHT way to name a child is with the AMERICAN or CHRISTIAN way? How soon people forget that modern English is only five centuries old, and that English is not the only language spoken on Earth.

As far as I know, Keisha..or Kisha..or K3$h4..however you want to spell it, is just another invented name..just as names like John and Peter had to be invented at one time or other in history. There's no right way to spell it..only more common and less common ways. I'm sure Ivan and Pedro would agree with me here.

Oh please. People can mess up "Jennifer" (MS Office's spell check turned it into an STD) and it's one of the most common names in this generation. Still, name changes are pretty easy. Too bad Keshia seems too cowed by mama's raging.

You gotta love how people try to get stuff for free. Did they eat the cake? Then they got what they paid for. We don't sell cakes for people to look at. They are to be placed in the mouth, chewed with saliva, swallowed, digested, and eventually pooped out. The taste buds and intestines don't give a damn that it wasn't spelled right.

I don't understand why she suddenly flipped out, the woman was trying to explain that she wasn't on a tab, and it's like the "Judge" didn't want to hear it after asking the question... I get the whole idea, and it's silly she wanted the cost of the party back, I think it's also silly that they were charging so much for a party, when the main thing (cake) was only 55.00! People are nuts.

for the last nine years I have worked with high school seniors supplying graduation items. My first lesson to hit home was NEVER believe I know how to spell a name, no matter how simple it sounds. I have found that the touchiest parents are the ones with the craziest sense of spelling. I asked a mom how to pronounce her daughter's name (on a form in front of me) and the exasperated answer was "G E S I K A, Jessica!" So I smile and nod but NEVER say it out loud if they have not said it to me! Life is too short...

I have to say, as someone with a weird name, I can't tell you how annoying it gets when I'm on the phone at work. I spell my name every single time, and still I've been called Priscilla, Brea, Brianna, Vanessa, even Brieffa and Priessa. But seriously... they should be laughing at the cake, not suing the caterer.

It's not just uncommon names or spellings that get butchered. Mine's Sierra (which is common enough, as it's a car and a mountain range) and people still find ways to screw it up. My husband is Riley (also not hard) and people overcomplicate it constantly.

Seeing as 'normal' names get murdered, I wasn't afraid to give my kids strange names. I knew they'd get mispronounced and mispelled, so whatever. Corran gets the 'Corrin' and 'Korran' treatment, among others, though its' hard to mispronounce. Tycho on the other hand gets spelled Tyco or Tyko, and mispronounced as Ty-cho when it's Ty-ko.

I am SOOO glad you posted this! I watch People's Court all the time and this episode made me want to comment and had no place ~~ the mother TOTALLY over-reacted. My thoughts were that the mother is teaching her child to expect people to be so much more than sorry for small mistakes. I felt even more sorry for the new son-in-law. He probably didn't even want to be there!

~laugh~ ok this is too funny, and so sad. I actually have a weird name in that it is spelled and pronounced like another name. My name is Liza, but it is pronounced like Lisa with a z, not like Liza Minnelli. I have to correct people at least once a day on days I don't leave the house and way more on days that I do. What were my parents thinking? Who knows, but I just go with it, I quickly repeat my name back with the way it SHOULD be pronounced and give a little laugh. I figure if I got mad every time someone got my name wrong I would be one very angry girl and who wants to be like that all the time. BTW my kid has a short and sweet and no confusion possible name.

My mom wanted to name me "Hilaurie" when I was born. (Pronounced the same as "Hillary".) Because it was "so pretty and unique!" Thank god my dad stepped in and gave me a better name. I can only imagine going through life being called "Hi Laurie".

Dad's reasoning was the same as the judges: Don't name your kid something you don't want misspelled all over the damn place.

I named my daughter Amy because it's impossible to misspell. Common sense, people need to use it more.

I cannot believe how unprofessional the judge is! she is judgement, leading,over-dramatic, telling personal stories, winds them all up, interrupts, then the judge loses her cool "wigs out" and just start wild rambling. the judge is driving me nuts. I can't imagine that kind of behaviour being allowed in a legal system. what is this?

What a nut case! To get that upset/crazy over a name being spelled wrong when it has a weird spelling in the first place?! Insanity!

My sister's name is spelled oddly, so she regularly gets it spelled incorrectly. Her middle name is also legally spelled incorrectly on her birth certificate/SS card (Katheirne instead of Katherine) Our last name is also frequently spelled wrong even though it's simple. We crack up over spellings which are way off.

I was just having a conversation with co-worker whose name is spelled Baylee about how annoying it is when people try to be cutesy and spell their kid's names in a ridiculous way. If you feel like it's necessary to do so, be prepared to have it spelled wrong their whole life.

Nikki, Nike, Nicky...--I completely understand! I've been called Ricky, Vicki...and even Michelle, Heather, Amanda...all of my life. Sometimes I just look at the person and laugh. Especially when they've known me for years and can never get my name right. I answer to just about anything. Just don't call me stupid, sugar, hon, babe, and it's fine.

Ok...I can't let this one pass. My name is Michele - with one L. And my middle name is Rene - with one E...and no A. As my ex-husband was fond of saying, "Vanna, I'd like to buy a vowel."

Yes, I am female...not a French male. I used to work in a grocery store in a college town and had a customer pay with a check. HIS name was Rene. I pointed to it and told him that was my middle name. The look on his face was priceless.

And yes, I WAS named after the Beatles' song. I had a customer tell me that when the song was originally released in Germany, this is how it was spelled. He might have just been trying to make me feel better... One of my fondest memories though is every time we went to some friends of my parents, the gentleman would sing, Michele my belle as his greeting to me. He's the only one who has ever done it.

I've been called MANY things including Mitchell, Michael and apparently I look like a Melissa because I've gotten that one frequently. In fact I had just started a new job and my boss couldn't remember my name for the life of him. One morning he'd been into the office and gone again before I got there, but he'd left me a note: Melissa,... I was showing it around the office and someone asked, "What IS your name?" I said, "I was named after a song..." at which point one of the ladies belts out "ROOOOOOXAAAAANNNE!!" Noooooo not that one! :D

Oh...and one more thing. My brother went and married a Michele...and yes, she's a 1 L Michele, too! (Her mom is Judy and used to work for my mom Judy, too!) Not a little bit confusing at family gatherings! And people ask me why I didn't take back my maiden name when I got divorced!!

I think that dude needs to just back out of the engagement while he still can!

As for names, my last name is Craver. I frequently get Carver. We also see mail for Raver, Craugher, and Crapper. I laughed my butt off when we got the letter for Crapper. Really? REALLY?! Hahaha. It never occured to me to try and sue someone over that. I was too busy cracking up I guess.

And I have a very normally spelled, common first name and had someone ask me how to spell it recently. I must have had a look on my face because the guy quickly said, "Well, you know, people spell things so strangely these days, I wanted to make sure!"

I would watch that vid but seeing as I am a hormonal mess at the moment my computer would probably fly out the window for sheer stupidity at the crazy woman for such a stupid lawsuit. Man I can see where the cake doesn't look too great with cracks and all but to sue for nearly 4500 over a name? Wouldn't want to meet that lady she might sue me just for walking by her lol.

My first name is Jessica. My co-worker (who can't spell even the simplest of words) spelled it 'Jessca' the other day. I couldn't believe it. She has to see my name every day because it's written on the schedule. How could she forget the i?! I'm going to sue her!!!

Sigh. Ke, with a long 'e'; shia = shya, the 'ia' is pronounced like the last syllable in California: Kal-i-forn-ya. "Keshia" is an African girl's name meaning *favorite*. Can't imagine why this family went for an African name for their little blonde baby, oh wait, mom's nuts, never mind.

When my first daughter was born I made sure that I had her name down EXACTLY as I wanted it--Ethyln. Simple! As for my second child, I picked an uncommon name that's been around for years and no one can seem to pronounce it or spell it--Genevieve! Yeesh...

I know all about names being mis-spelled and mis-pronounced. Mine is Gerrie with a hard G, not a soft J sound. Until a couple of years ago I was regularly asked to spell or pronounce it, unfortunately a lady with the name of Geri (pronounced Jeri) became famous and all of a sudden everyone knew how my name was said and spelled. The really annoying thing is when a lady I have known for years (who has been getting my name right the whole time) starts getting it wrong because a Geri has started working in the same office - I just laugh and point out how much longer she has known me. I just slap my dad upside the head when he writes Gery on my birthday cards - I was named after his mum. :PMy sister also has dificulty she has a quite common name, but with the European spelling - her email address for years was "with-an-s" because that was how she told people her name - it is "Elisabeth with an s" The biggest laugh she had was when she saw someone writing Selizabeth.And don't get me started on our surname :DcheersGerrie T.

I ALWAYS spell my last name before I pronounce it because it is so unusual. (Sometimes I don't even pronounce it - because the person usually repeats it back to me INCORRECTLY?!?) When I get a funny look or the comment "well, THAT'S an unusual name" - I just reply with "it's my husband's name - my maiden name was Jones" - that usually gets a laugh.

Also, my first name is Marilyn - how many times do you think it's been spelled incorrectly?? And, how many times have I been asked if I was named after Marilyn Monroe??? (I was actually named after the doctor who delivered me!)

As a side note - my husband's name on his Birth Certificate is Anthony, but he has been Tony all his life. Not difficult, right? His pet peeve is having someone spell his name TONI!

My name's been misspelled and mispronounced for years. Married last name is apparently incredibly difficult for people too. We just roll our eyes and go with it. My daughet got a certificate from her dance class made out to "Enma" (Emma). It happens, but it's certainly not worth suing over it. Although I thought the cake was hideous, even without the misspelling and the cracks. $55 for that?? Get a Costco cake for $19!

One other thing that struck me while listening/watching this video - over $4k for an Engagement Party? And then you order a $50 SHEET cake?? And that SHEET cake is the HIGHLIGHT of the event??? Can you say NO CLASS? I hope this Bride at LEAST got a round cake for her wedding - even if it was only one-tier! Poor girl.

Oh - and the mother-of-the-bride-zilla says she only went to court so that everyone would know NOT to have their event at this venue. Hmm, I'll bet what she did was get her name posted to every baker's "Do NOT accept an order from this woman" list. I know I wouldn't accept her as a client.

My name is constantly spelled wrong (Kaylee, Kay Lee, Kalie, blah blah blah), and was once spelled wrong on a birthday cake. It upset me--for about five minutes. (The actual taste of the cake was worse than the misspelling, to be honest.)

When you go through life having your name misspelled and mispronounced by everyone, you usually learn to have a sense of humor about it... NOT to sue everyone who spells it wrong.

My first name has a silent "H" in it (Johanna) - my father was a German professor, he should have known better, but there it is. I never get wound up when people spell or pronounce my name incorrectly.

And when my wedding cake ended up with a cascade of magenta flowers instead of "very, very pale pink almost white" I thought, "WOW! That's gorgeous!

Wow. Just WOW. My name is constantly messed up, but it doesn't bother me in the least. Perhaps if this mother had simply, "asked" instead of, "axed", this entire situation could have been averted. Side note - I wish I had a daughter, so I could name her Magrat instead of Margaret (in true Discworld fashion).

My name is Maureen. Not Morine, not Merriam, Mary, Moreen, Morin, Merine, Marine (yes like a sea creature) or any other crazy spelling I have seen. But every misspelling is cause for yet another laugh, not a lawsuit. Things happen. I mean she KNEW her daughter's name got spelled incorrectly all the time, its not like this is a new thing. Yes, an engagement party is a big deal but not this big of a deal. I honestly thought my brother's engagement was a bit silly with plastic rings flotsam but the evening was fun the cake was good and my kids got mementos form the night to wear until they broke.

My husband, on the other hand, has a very unique name and spelling. We have fun seeing people try pronouncing his name, especially doctors' offices. I've called a couple "whimp" when they opted to call him by his last name instead.

wv: munivers - you should have seen all the mu-ni-vers they made thinking through how to say it!

Here! Here! to a new generation of normal names. I've spent entirely too much time reading comments on this post.I also made it to the 3:14 mark before I had to shut her down. Curiosity killed and I watched the conclusion."I knew I wasn't going to get my money, I just wanted to let them know how pissed I was."

I don't really mind when people don't spell my name (Abigail) right. I get Abbygale, Abbiegal, etc. A lot of people, though, just switch it to something else and call me Amanda or Gabrielle or something like that.

I was babysitting a three-year-old who apparently hadn't encountered my name before and decided it was "Alligator." She called me that all evening.

I work for an Infants & Toddlers program and I take referrals for children who may be eligible to receive speech and physical therapy. Considering the number of bizarro names parents like to bestow on their kids these days, even a name like Catherine or Michael I get the spelling for because you never know if it's going to be Kath'rynn or Mykkl.

Many of the names I get are easy to pronounce and spell, but the other day I got one for a baby girl named K'Lei. I have no idea if it's supposed to sound like Kay-Lee, Kay-Ligh, Kay-Lay or if it's Kuh-Lee, Kuh-Ligh, or Kuh-Lay.

So parents, it's one thing to be unique, but it's another to be yoo-neek and your child will have some issues.

---Bree "just like the cheese but spelled differently, and no, it's not short for Breanna or Gabrielle."

My first name is Leslie, pronounced with a z, so of course it's mispronounced daily. However what drives me nuts is when they get my name completely wrong: Lisa or Lacey usually. I work in customer service and I am often "Rosalie" to customers , or even more bizarre, "Barbara". I never have figured that one out. my last name is Monroe, which is more often than not spelled and/or pronounced Monreo or Moore. My least favorite response of all time, "Monroe? Any relation to Marilyn?" Why yes, I am related to the actress...and just decided to use her stage name to pass to my children instead of her given name. Drives me nuts!!

I think I can beat pretty much any misspelling story, although mine wasn't on a cake. One day I called my local Pizza Hut to place a carry out order and gave them my last name--Thomas--to label my order. Twenty minutes later I go to pick up my pizza and the cashier says 'Thomas? We don't have a Thomas.' I asked if maybe they had a Thompson (one of their workers made that error fairly frequently) but they didn't.

Eventually I just told the cashier my order and my total. She found my order and died laughing. The name on the tag? Phrpon. P-H-R-P-O-N. How does that even happen?

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